when I was a kid I read the Satanic Bible
I was bored, got it at the mall in Ohio
when I was older I moved out to the Bay
and at a music store, hey, I met Anton Lavey
he was dapper and he had two strippers with him
he played organ with expertise and precision
I got invited to his house in '97
with my friend Becky there was some kind of get-together
I didn't go 'cause I had somethin' or other
then he died that year in late October
and if I'm ever near the corner he lived on
I always think about the day I met Anton
his old Victorian was black as bondo
they tore it down now a shiny new condo

when I was a kid I saw the movie Papillon
with my father it left an impression on
me, the headhunters and the leper colony
devil's island and the Dustin Hoffman bowl scene
I watched the movie a hundred fifty times
I can recite every one of the script lines
to this day the last scene brings me to tears
when Steve McQueen says "Hey you bastards I'm still here!"
we watched a lot of TV, kung-fu and baretta
Robert Blake wore a cockatoo on his shoulder
and you couldn't help but to love David Carradine
kickin' the white man's ass in every scene
well I can't help but to think of my father and me
when I see old movies with Steve McQueen
well I can't help but to think of my father and me
when I hear the name David Carradine

when I was a kid I went to the cue-n-cushion
there were pool tables and deadbeats drug pushin'
I'd buy joints in the bathroom for a dollar
smoke 'em down along the Tuscarawus River
I'd sit alone and I'd feel inspired
I wanted out of the home of the Masillon Tigers
at night I watched Johnny Carson televise in L.A.
I knew I'd live on the west coast one day
and when I'm back home I remember the old days
when I walk along Lincoln way
and when I'm back home I remember the old days
when I walk along Lincoln way

1 Comment

General CommentMark references states that he was first introduced to Anton during his youth in Ohio. His only exposure to the Satanic Bible was because he was "bored" and he got it at what is probably a drab mall and likely read it in his room at his parents house. Fast forward and Mark is in California and is not only meeting the author, a ridiculous and intriguing person, but has so much going on that he can't even make it to Anton's party, which he is nonchalant about. This is quite the contrast and demonstrates why he chose to move from Ohio to California, which is detailed more explicitly at the end of the song.

The movie Papillon is a metaphor for Mark's own life and shows that he dreamed of something more from a young age. Papillon tells the story of one man encountering adventure after he escapes from prison. Mark is leaving the "prison" of Ohio for something more stimulating - like going to parties with the guy that wrote the Satanic Bible.

As someone who grew up in a smallish town and had a copy of the Satanic Bible, I find this song easy to relate to. A book so outlandish and provocative held a lot of appeal to a teenager living with his parents in a boring town.